If the sales tax in your city is $4.9\%$, how much tax would you pay for an item that costs $\$21$ before tax? Round to the nearest cent.
Solution: In order to find the amount of sales tax you would pay, multiply the sales tax by the original price of the item. ${4.9\%} \times {\$21} =$ Percent means "out of one hundred," so $4.9\%$ is equivalent to $4.9 \div 100$ $4.9 \div 100 = 0.049$ Multiply the sales tax you just converted into a decimal by the original price to find the amount of sales tax that must be paid. Round to the nearest cent. $0.049$ $\times$ $$21$ = $$1.03$ You would pay $$1.03$ in sales tax.